OHSHC: Year of the Shadow King
by PrincessJuliaOfHeart
Summary: Kyouya has yet to meet his match or a girl that pose as any 'benefit' to him but Haruhi and Kasanoda want to introduce him to a new student. Perhaps the year of the Shadow King has come...
1. The Year of the Shadow King

Ouran High School Host Club

The Year of the Shadow King

Yes I decided to finally do it :3

Anyways this might be a three Parter (not three chapters but three different sections because it might be that long…)  
Starting with-  
The Year of the Shadow King (1st)  
The Yanki's Dilemma (2nd)  
The Blood Red Rose of Ouran (3rd)  
And after that I don't know because it could be longer…

I will also try and use Japanese honorifics as best as I can to make it more like Ouran.

-The storyline of this fanfic is not in the anime or manga but really between.  
Kasanoda is mentioned to be in the gardening club  
Mei's parts of the story where Tamaki and Haruhi's feelings are revealed are out somewhat in but Mei isn't a big character  
Éclair isn't in here and neither is Renge (explained as she moved back to France)  
Other than that other things will be in it too…

Notes-

Yanki: Delinquent


	2. First Day of School

**April**

**Start of the New School Year**

Ouran Private Academy is defined by one, prestigious families, and two, wealth. And prosperous people have much time on their hands. Therefore, this Ouran Host Club is about these handsome guys that have time, giving hospitality to these lovely ladies who also have time, and profit off of them. It's an elegant game unique to this super-rich school.

Kasanoda Ritsu opened the door to the Third Music Room and a shower of rose petals greeted him. He wasn't surprised that when he looked in he had walked into a Junior High School.

"Hello Casanova…" Suoh Tamaki released yet another handful of petals and smiled. His voice was the same seductive one that he used when girls walked in, "who would you like to tutor today?"

Ritsu sighed, "You know you don't have to do this every time I walk in…" he walked in and over to the group, the Host Club wasn't officially opened yet and they were just practicing for the first day of the new year. "Is Haruhi here yet?" he looked around but couldn't see the girl's face.

Tamaki sat up, "no! We haven't seen her all day!" He slumped, "well Hikaru and Karou have but they're in the same class…"

The twins shrugged and replied, "But we couldn't get a word in edgewise since the teacher kept talking about how much _fun_ we're going to have this semester…" They sighed and seemed to be annoyed at the thought of not talking to their friend during class time.

"Well…" Ritsu pulled out a small cherry tomato plant, "could you give this to Haruhi when _he_ comes back?"

"Oh!" Tamaki's face lit up again, "of course! Of course!" he jumped up and took the plant. "Oh my precious daughter will love this!"

Kyouya sighed, "So Kasanoda-kun…" he was about to ask a question and the others knew it, "I hear you met with Haruhi yesterday…"

"Yes I did, why?" Ritsu sweat dropped seeing the devilish grin creep onto Kyouya's face.

"Because of the fact that _she_ called and told Tamaki _she_ was with Ranka-san. Why is this?"

"Maybe because _he_ didn't want you to know about it because it was personal business?" It was hard to keep a straight face while talking to him because Kyouya was probably more evil than the devil himself.

"I see…" Kyouya pushed up his glasses and his devilish grin changed into one of a sincere smile that could charm even the grumpiest of old ladies, "then I apologize for any inconvenience I've caused you. Now would you like to schedule a time with Haruhi so you could talk?"

"Sorry I'm late!" Haruhi rushed in and almost ran into Ritsu, "oh Kasanoda!" she smiled and stood up straight, "how are you?"

"Huh!?" Ritsu answered instinctively, "oh. I'm fine…" he mumbled and then blushed; he still couldn't look at her sweet smile without thinking about how much he liked her.

Her face went blank when she saw the look on Kyouya's face, "what's happened?" She walked over to her group of friends and looked at each one of them in a Junior High outfit, '_I've seen some pretty strange things here but this tops them all…_' She noticed that Hunny was in an elementary school uniform instead, it looked just like the one they had used when they infiltrated the elementary area to spy on Shiro.

"Oh nothing my precious daughter has to worry about!" Tamaki ran over and grabbed her in a hug. "Oh Haruhi! We were worried when we didn't see you yesterday for outfit measurements!"

"I was busy with my dad…" she mumbled thinking about her meeting with Ritsu the day before.

Kyouya gave a sly smile to Ritsu, "of course! Well…that means today you'll have to wear the other uniform that we had prepared before…"

"No! I think I'll just wear my normal one!" she fought her way out of Tamaki's arms and went to put her bag at the back of the room. She looked around and found the handkerchief she had dropped a month before, "but I meant other than that…"

Tamaki held up the plant that Kasanoda had brought for her, "oh Casanova brought this! Maybe you'll make us dinner?" he raised his eyebrow in a charming way. Haruhi nodded and walked over to Ritsu and tilted her head.

"Oh are you going to stay today?" she noticed that he had a little streak of dirt on his face, probably from gardening around the school grounds.

"I can't today but I might come by later," he thought about all the things he had to do for club that day. "But I'll be sure to come in tomorrow!" he bowed, obviously apologizing to Haruhi.

Haruhi nodded again, "that's fine…" she gave her cute smile to him.

Kyouya was working in his account book again, "oh Haruhi I wanted to talk to you about your debt…"

"What is it?" She turned her head towards him and he was smiling like he knew a secret.

"I was doing the numbers and your debt has tripled…"

"How is that!?" she waited for his answer.

"You've ruined three costumes, accidently of course, several days you were unable to attend club which meant that you couldn't see your customers…" Kyouya was looking at a list.

"Okay, I get it!" She sighed even being a host wasn't helping now. '_What am I going to do? Kyouya hasn't been generous in cutting my debt lately either_...'

"Oh Kyouya can't we cut it just a little!?" Tamaki gave his cute puppy face, "please mother?"

Kyouya shook his head, "I'm afraid not…lately we've actually been in the red since someone thought they should help Mei and her father…" he glared at Tamaki from the corner of his eyes and then pushed up his glasses. "But I digress."

Haruhi sighed, '_I'm pretty sure that's a lie…_'

"Well," Tamaki sighed but didn't go to his emo corner, "should we open club?"

The twins nodded, "we're getting bored!" they went to fuss with the little plant.

Kyouya nodded and threw open the doors, "the host club is now open!

* * *

Sorry if this first chapter is horrible Dx  
I wasn't sure how to open it but now that it's been done it shall flow better!  
And I wanted to give you guys something since Thanksgiving is coming up.  
Feel free to leave comments~  
~_PJoH_


	3. The Next Day

**The Next Day…**

"Ritsu…" a girl that had red bangs with the rest of her hair black knelt down next to Kasanoda Ritsu, who at that moment was checking some of the new rose bushes the Gardening Club had planted the day before.

"What is it Roze?" he looked up and smiled at her, the way that he always smiled at Haruhi and Tetsuya.

"I know that you're busy but when are you going to show me that scandalous Host Club I've heard so much about?" she moved his had away from a shallow root he almost pulled out.

He thought about it, "after school okay?" he wondered if that Benio girl from the other school had told her that. "You'll be alright finding my last class right?"

She quietly nodded and pushed some dirt over the root, "of course. I already took the time to memorize a map of the school."

He smiled at his cousin and sighed, "there's something I need to tell you about too…" but before he could get into it the bell rang.

"See you later Ritsu!" the girl stood up and grabbed her bag, "I'll pick you up later!" she ran off before he could say anything.

* * * * *

Kyouya sat in his English class and felt someone staring at the back of his head. _'Probably one of the girls again…' _he turned around and sought out the pair of eyes that had bored holes into him but it hadn't felt like the usual lustful or even wanting gaze. It was merely that of a curious one that he had never been acquainted with, usually the curious ones became the Twin's, Hunny's, or sometimes Mori's customers since they were the interesting ones of The Club. _'Hmm?'_ he met a pair of curious brown eyes that belonged to a girl sitting a few rows away and farther back in the class. He turned back to the board and thought about the girl, she seemed new to the class.

_'But that can't be…'_ Kyouya thought, _'I would have heard about a new transfer student by Tamaki and especially when she's in our class…'_ He turned to the blond that was paying attention to the lesson intently and then looked down at his own blank sheet of paper. As quickly as he could he wrote down a note about what he had seen and planned to ask Tamaki at lunch, surely he did know since he was the superintendent's son.

* * * * *

"Haruhi-kun trade with us?" Hikaru and Karou sat on either side of Haruhi, their eyes cutely staring at her Bento box. "We'll give you both of our lunches for it!" they cried before she could protest.

"Well…" she noticed they had the exact same thing but didn't say anything about it, "I guess…" she pushed it away from herself and the twins pushed their trays in front of her. They quickly snatched up the box and left her to eat their lunches while they divided her lunch between themselves.

"I'll take the dumplings…" Hikaru quickly pushed them to his side of the box and waited for Karou to make a choice.

"But…Hikaru. I wanted some dumplings…" his twin gave him a sad look and had a tear roll down his face. He mentally sighed knowing that if he refused the girls watching them in the lunch room would disapprove or think they were having another fight.

"All you had to do was ask…" Hikaru picked up a dumpling and placed it in Karou's now open mouth.

Haruhi sighed and took a bite of her new lunch; the food was fine and rich, just as everything was at this school. In the back of her mind she was wondering where the other four members of the club were since they hadn't showed up.

* * * * *

"Reiko-chan would you pass me that cake?" Hunny was sitting with his 'girlfriend' from the Black Magic Club in the Host Club room so they could be alone. He smiled as she reached out and placed it in front of him, "thank you!" he saw her smile and go back to her small lunch of something that seemed hardly edible but she was enjoying it.

"Hunny-kun I was wondering if I could ask you something…" she was still trying to get used to calling him by his first name but it flowed easily this time.

"What is it?" His expression turned into one of concern.

* * * * *

"So Tamaki…" Kyouya didn't bother with the formalities of a title since they were in the library waiting for the papers he had requested to print. "Did you notice the new girl in our classes?" throughout the course of that morning she had been in their English and elective Poetry class.

"Oh yes, that girl with the different hair colors?" Tamaki leaned back in his chair and stared at the book in front of him. "She seemed to know a lot about Poetry, especially that about nature."

"Do you know who she is, other than the hair?" Kyouya knew Tamaki would understand what he meant in a few moments.

"I forgot to tell you didn't I?" The blond laughed at his mistake, "father told me that her name is…Wakahisa Akane. She's the daughter of a very popular florist that does work all over the country."

Kyouya picked up a paper that was printing from the school's printer, "and also imports flowers for special orders…" he read over the file and noticed something interesting in her name. "Are you sure that's her full name Tamaki?"

"That's all that father said, why?" he looked up with a questioning look and closed the book. "Is there something else?"

"No, nothing at all Tamaki." Kyouya quickly slipped the makeshift file into his bag and hoped that it had been a clerical error, _'what is she doing in 2-A?'_ He heard the bell ring.

"Well I'm going to go pick up my bag. See you in a few minutes Kyouya," Tamaki stood up and quickly made his way through the library.

* * * * *

Ritsu stood outside his last class and saw a familiar bow bobbing it's way through the crowd. "Roze!" he rushed through and met her half way, "before we go could we talk about something first?"

"Anything cousin," she noticed the manly way he carried his bag over his should and felt a soft little pang in her heart. He always looked so adorable but she didn't dare say so since he was easily embarrassed.

"When we go don't say you're related to me okay?" She raised an eyebrow and just watched him for a moment. "Don't give me that look it's just safer."

"If that's what you want." She dropped her bag off at the spot The Gardening Club would be at that day, "is there anything else?"

"No," he dropped his bag too and they continued walking to the wing where The Host Club was located. "Then again…" he rubbed his jaw thinking about the papers he had found in her room before the start of term. "You did some research on the club right?"

"Of course I did," she mentally rechecked each document that had the most intimate details of all the club members.

"Can you tell me what you know then?" Their private investigators did thorough jobs but this to him was just a test for her, of what could threaten his very existence. _'I shouldn't think that way. The sacrifices everyone has made for this. She sacrificed everything just so I could have it but I always think she's scheming just below the surface…'_

"There's a king. Shadow king. Twins. Loli-shota. The silent one. And Fujioka, the one that you talk about to uncle?"

Ritsu nodded, "try and stay away from the first two. They're probably not your taste and Haruhi-san is an exceptional host." He hadn't told his cousin anything about Haruhi because he kept her secret as he had promised.

Kane nodded, "well. I might go with the loli-shota."

"Named?" He wanted to see if she remembered.

"Haninozuka Mitsukuni. Class 3-A. Known to his customers and friends as 'Hunny'." She kept looking forward like his actions didn't bother her, her face was like stone at the moment but between the two of them it was a tactic she had developed because of their family trade.

"I'll try and arrange something if he's busy, okay?" Ritsu smiled at her and her face softened.

"If you wish."


	4. The Next Day Pt2

Tamaki kicked open the door of the Host Club, "look!!" he had an arm full of roses, "I found a commoner selling them on the corner just outside of the school!" He inched his way to an empty table with a vase, "they were so inexpensive I had to buy them." He wiped his forehead when he was done and made sure the roses fit perfectly.

Hikaru and Karou walked in with their own armful of roses, "our lord said we had to help him bring them in…" this was the truth but he had practically dragged them to the vendor so they would do so. They went to other tables and deposited the flowers in the vases.

Kyouya looked up from his laptop and sighed, "I hope you paid for them with your own money." Considering the amount Tamaki had probably paid and the quality of the roses he bought it wasn't worth using the club's money.

"Of course I did Kyouya! By the time I would have come to ask for the money the vendor would have already left for the day!" He went over to his couch and flipped down, "talking about money. How's the budget for the beginning of this year?"

"Like I said in the red…we're going to have to do some serious advertisement or else…I'm afraid we'll have to cut back on a lot of things." Kyouya sighed and then went to go check the club's website.

"Oh…well maybe my father will let me get away with a few posters around campus or something." He stared at his shoes, "what do you think Haruhi?"

"I don't know…" she was staring at her homework and working out a problem in her head. "Maybe you guys shouldn't be doing extravagant things for a while, you know temporary cut back."

"I agree with Haruhi!" The twins shouted from across the room, "over the summer you guys got crazy with spending."

"That would be Tamaki…" Kyouya pointed out, "besides…" before he could finish the door opened.

"Is the club opened yet?" Ritsu stuck in his head, "or am I early?"

"Early," Haruhi said without getting up.

"Oh good I wanted to make an appointment for a…friend." He walked in and almost closed the door behind him.

"Really? New or existing customer?" Kyouya asked while standing up and walking over.

"New, she's kind of shy." He watched Tamaki come over behind Kyouya.

"Good, very good." A few page flips later Kyouya looked up, "may I ask what host and a name?"

"Well she said she wanted Hunny that is if he's free. And her name is Wakahisa Akane." Kyouya had stopped in the middle of writing Hunny's name but then just smiled. "Is something wrong Kyouya-senpai?"

"No, Kasanoda-kōhai…" he continued writing and then closed the appointment book. "Is that all you need?"

"Well, she's new to this school and since you are all so nice to me I was wondering if you would help her get situated here at the school." When Ritsu finished saying that the door opened and Akane was standing there. She curtsied and nodded her head in greeting but said nothing. "She's a little shy but is a very nice girl…" _'Maybe Kyouya won't realize she's really my cousin…'_ Ritsu's reasoning being that the favor might cost more if it dealt with his family.

Kyouya nodded, he already knew who she was but said nothing about it. "You're the girl from our English and Poetry class, correct?"

She nodded; the only thing that Kyouya didn't know was that she had also done her own research on every member of the club. "Pleased to meet you Ootori-san."

Kyouya nodded but then stopped when Tamaki unexpectedly slid over.

In his hand he held a tea tray that he had been preparing, "ah a new princess!" he looked Akane over; it took him a few moments to recognize who she was. "Why! Your bangs are as red as a beautiful rose…" his usual charm already showing through with his smile.

Akane blinked, "oh yes you're Suoh-kun. We're also in the same class..."

"Of course!" he quickly put down the tea tray and took her hands in his own. "I knew I had seen you before but was sure it had been in a dream..."

She wasn't sure how to react but smiled softly.

"From now on I shall be your host," he pulled out a rose and held it out to her.

Naturally her normal thoughts kicked in. "You got that from a regular vendor didn't you? Probably one of the corner vendors."

Tamaki stood up straight since he was taken aback by what she said.

"You can tell the quality of where you got a rose by the state of the petals...and yours are slightly wilted. It wouldn't be noticeable to the untrained eyes but," she was sure he did this to all the girls, "or they just didn't want to make you feel stupid. But I know what they look like," she smiled like she was giving tips instead of pointing out a fault.

Tamaki was in his emo corner by the time she had finished.

Hikaru and Karou looked over. "What do you think she did to him?" Karou asked.

"I have no idea..." they walked over to see what was going on

Kyouya had had an almost unnatural urge to laugh at the way she had been able to get that strong of a reaction from him with an observation. "Oh Tamaki-kun she didn't mean it…" he attempted to cheer the blond up.

Tamaki was pulling the petals off of the roses, "she knew where I got them from..." he murmured to himself

When she saw where Tamaki was Akane put a hand over her chest, "did I say something wrong?"

Kasanoda covered his face at his cousin's actions since he knew how delicate the boy could be over trivial things.

Karou and Hikaru snickered about it. "Finally someone who saw how our lord is..."

Haruhi had looked up from her work to watch the scene taking place; _'…'_ she rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face before standing up and walking over. "Sorry about this, he tends to over react about some things…" she stuck out her hand, "I'm Haruhi."

Akane knew this was the 'boy' that her cousin had always spoken about but she realized something was amiss. "Then it's my mistake…I'm Akane," she smiled and took Haruhi's hand. She knew she was blunt but never really it until the damage had already been done.

Ritsu nodded, "she's not used to how people react when she tells people things straight out."

Tamaki looked up with his big puppy eyes at the three.

Kyouya knew what was coming so he went back to the group, "just try to ignore him…" Even though he had given the warning he had done it too late, Akane was already staring back at him.

Tamaki continued to stare and his eyes seemed to get wider by the minute.

"C...Kasanoda-kun...what exactly is he doing?" she felt like she wanted to comfort him for some unknown reason.

"I'm not exactly sure but it's like when you mention minor things that shouldn't be said out loud."

"You mean guilting?" she couldn't stand it any longer and went over to him and kneeled by him. "Oh Suoh-san. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings it's just that I li-" she corrected herself as it was customary in public, "know a lot about flowers."

Tamaki smiled, "its okay. I know you didn't mean it." Just then Hunny and Mori walked in.

"What's wrong with Tama-chan?" Hunny asked when he saw the scene.

"He got his feelings hurt by the new girl," the twins answered before going back to their couch, it hadn't been as interesting as they had thought it would be.

"I would be very happy if you would be my host today!" Tamaki smiled at what Akane said and stood up.

"Then come this way…tell me all you know," he lead her to his couch and helped her get situated.

"Well..." she wasn't sure where to start, "you're name is Suoh Tamaki. Class 2-A, birthday April 8th. You're currently 17. Your sign is Aries. Blood type A. 183 centimeters tall. Favorite subjects are French, English, and World History. Your exam ranking is always second in your class..."

His eyes got wider as she doled out facts about him. "Well...I meant flowers but this is so much more interesting."

"Oh," she blushed, "I thought you meant what I knew about you."

Karou and Hikaru laughed, "She knows so much."

"Maybe she's one of those girls that looks up information on people so they can get to know them."

Kasanoda sighed happily and walked out so he could attend to his club activities for the day.

"She doesn't look like a stalker though," Karou replied, "more like…I don't know. But nothing like a stalker."

Kyouya shook his head, knowing that he'd have to correct his appointment book later. "Ah…, where did Kasanoda-kun go?"

"Probably Gardening Club," Haruhi answered before going back to her table.

"How about you talk for now?" Akane settled back onto the couch.

"Well...even though I'm sure you know this I'm half French..." Tamaki went on to basically tell her his life story minus the soap opera-y parts.

Hunny and Mori went to their area and started talking about their lunch time experience.

Kane just listened to him talk about his life, the way he described it was different from the file she had received. It sounded nicer and warmer than what she read.

"Akane-chan?" Tamaki was trying to get her attention.

"Hmm...yes?" She snapped back.

"I asked if you would mind sharing me with another girl or two?"

"Of course not," she let her eyes travel around the room; she wondered why her cousin hadn't told her that Haruhi was a girl. There must be a reason; they had been so close since the time he was born into the family, almost like they had been brother and sister instead of cousins. Akane tilted her head as Tamaki excused himself to see if his tie was straight. She knew who was who and watched them intently; the twins seemed to be talking about hats. Haruhi was looking through her backpack; Kyouya was on his computer probably checking stuff to do with the club. Hunny talked to Mori about something.

Hunny set out the last of the tea cups at his table and sat down in his chair. "Takashi! Aren't you going to get ready?" he changed the subject when he had nothing more to say.

Mori nodded and ran his fingers through his hair silently.

Tamaki walked back but went to the doors, "the Host Club is now open!"

"Welcome!" Hikaru and Karou greeted their girls as they walked over. "Today's a special day! Play guess who's Hikaru and win a date with us~" the girls giggled at the two. "Take as much time as you need but when you're ready come and tell us." They poured tea from two teapots with their timing exactly the same.

Tamaki walked over with his usual girls and introduced them to Akane.

Akane smiled at the girls and chatted with them about who's who and such until they waited for Tamaki to offer some kind of answer.

"Well of course it has to be the great manga-ka Hatori Bisco," he answered before reaching into his bag and pulling out a copy of Millennium Snow.

Karou smiled at the girls ask they asked questions to each one of them but since they did have similar tastes it wasn't helping them.

Tamaki started chatting with one of the girls who accepted the 'commoner' rose. "Have you ever seen a rose that is as lovely as this one?"

The girl shook her head and watched Tamaki in awe as he went on with an over exaggerated tale on how he had gotten the rose. Akane smiled and just listened to him chat about it; he certainly did have flair at story telling.

One of Hunny's regular customers asked him about Reiko and their relationship.

"Well, today she asked me a question and I didn't know how to reply…could you tell me onii-chan?!" he jumped into her lap.

"Of course what was the question!?" she was overcome by his cuteness and gently stroked his back as he proceeded to tell her.

Akane turned back to Tamaki and silently thought about how he could listen to the girls chat. She had never been used to such things, it was nice but she felt out of place somehow. She sighed and decided to say something, "Suoh-"

"Just call me Tamaki~" He winked at her and smiled.

"Tamaki-kun. Do you think I could maybe...leave for the day?" she saw that he looked a little sad. "It's just that I wanted to help Kasanoda-kun with some of the gardening today."

"Oh then its fine. Just come back tomorrow okay?"

She nodded and stood up but then quietly walked over to Karou and Hikaru. "You're Karou," she pointed to the one on the right, "and you're Hikaru..." she pointed to the other on the left.

They both stared at her in shock but then recovered, "it looks like we have a winner!" They jumped up and grabbed onto one of her hands.

"Oh..." the other girls pouted.

Akane looked at the other girls, "I'll sell you the date for 100..." it would catch their attention easily from there she would have to manipulate them though.

"No! 150!" One cried

"No Saia! 250!"

It continued one for a while until it had hit 2000 for the date. "Well then the date goes to Saia-chan," Akane pulled out a slip of paper and wrote something on it. She handed one to Saia, to be like a receipt and then she smiled at the twins. "Bye..." she took the money and then walked over to Kyouya."Here you go...Kyouya-kun." She left the money on the table in front of him and walked out.

Kyouya looked at the money and then looked up to see the door close. _'Since when did she get so familiar?'_ he picked up the money and decided to enter it into the account as a 'miscellaneous' deposit. He wondered how they could get more money like this without turning it into a commercial business.

Tamaki chuckled at what Akane did and turned back to the girls. He wondered if she really would become a regular of the club since she had been so quiet.

Hikaru was brooding over the fact that someone had actually won (other than Haruhi). Karou smiled at the 'winner' of the date and asked her what she would like to do.

"Can I take Aya-chan too? Please? It would be so unfair!" Saia begged, obviously she didn't want to create a rift between her and the other girl.

"I guess?" Karou looked at his brother who only shrugged.

Haruhi attended to her customer and was talking to the girls about a movie that came out recently. "I thought it was a cute movie…did your boyfriends take you to go see it?"

"Oh no Haruhi-kun. They said that since there was no fighting it wasn't worth it."


	5. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

Kyouya hadn't dealt with his clients that day since he was trying to figure out how to balance the budget, "Tamaki. Come look at this," he pulled up a file with one of the plans he had came up with.

"What is it Kyouya?" he walked over after putting his tea set in the back.

"I think we're going to have to cancel the Cherry Blossom Viewing, it'll cut back on the costs enough so we can cover for the little slump we're in now." He showed Tamaki what he meant.

"But the girls are looking forward to it, we can't let them down can we?" He didn't really understand how they had gotten into their 'slump'. "How exactly did this happen?"

"Mei ended up monopolizing a lot of our time over the summer, and having to pay for costumes and upkeep rush drained the account." Kyouya sighed, "so. It's either we somehow boost the account quickly, cut something, or cancel the viewing."

Tamaki nodded, "hey! Guys, come here!" He waved to the other club members to come over.

"What is it?" Haruhi grabbed her bag and walked over, and then the twins followed her.

"Does Tama-chan have an important announcement to tell us?" Hunny asked before bouncing over with Mori.

"Well it has to do with the club's account…"

* * * * *

Akane was sitting with her cousin under one of the cherry blossom trees, "I was bored in there. Tamaki-kun is nice but…I don't know…but he doesn't intrigue me."

"Just give it some time, you know Haruhi? Well he's coming over to the house today." Ritsu planted the last bulb of the day and covered it with dirt.

"Really? Well then, I'll go ahead and prepare the after school snack." She stood up and stretched before grabbed his bag.

"Roze, why can't you just ask one of the men to do it?" He leaned back so he could look at her.

She shrugged, "I like doing things myself, okay?"

He sighed, "fine. You can use some stuff from the garden if you want."

"Alright," she walked off without another word.

* * * * *

Haruhi sighed; she walked onto the Kasanoda's estate thinking about what Tamaki had said. She smiled when she saw Tetsuya though.

"Hello Fujioka-sama!" He bowed and walked over, "Master Ritsu is waiting for you in the backyard." As usual Tetsuya led her to where Ritsu was and left them so they could talk.

"Good afternoon Haruhi-kun!" Ritsu blushed as Haruhi sat down next to him, "I'm glad you could make it."

"So am I, Kyouya and Tamaki wanted to keep me after…" she leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. "Debt this and debt that, not that it matters but it's like they blame me for what's happening to the club." She normally didn't complain about her debt but she had heard that word so many times in one day it had driven her crazy.

"What do you mean?" He had no idea that there was something wrong.

"Well…" she opened her mouth but then a pleasant voice drifted through the air with a wonderful message.

"I finished lunch Ritsu, oh hello Haruhi-kun. Would you like some lunch? I already prepared an extra plate for you." Akane walked over with a large tray in her hands.

Haruhi smiled, "sounds great. Do you come over to Kasanoda-kun's house Akane-chan?" Ritsu face palmed when Haruhi wasn't looking his way.

'_This could ruin everything! And then I'd probably have to pay Kyouya a lot more than what I did at the festival! I'd probably have to kidnap someone!'_ He worried what might become of him and his family name if that ever happened, that is until he heard what his cousin said.

"Oh yes, I've been friends with the Kasanoda family for a very long time. You could almost say that I'm welcomed here like family," she had handed Haruhi her plate and then gently placed Ritsu's in his lap. "This is probably why I can get away with cooking instead of having one of the men doing it."

Haruhi laughed and took a bite, "oh! I suppose I could guess that you like cooking then?" she liked how the flavor of the dish was sweet but also spicy. That's when she got an idea, one that would help the club earn money and maybe even reduce her debt.

"Haruhi-kun, so you were saying about the club?" Ritsu ate his like it was nothing; Akane had been staying at the Kasanoda-gumi for a month already and he had become immune to her good tasting dishes.

Akane smiled and decided to sit with them since she could always learned more just by listening.

"Oh well as I was saying," Haruhi used her napkin to clean the corners of her mouth before continuing, "Kyouya says the clubs bank account is lower than it should be and we either have to cut back on the club props like the roses, costumes, and decorations or else we'll have to cancel this year's Cherry Blossom Viewing." She resumed eating and waited for Ritsu's comment on the situation.

"Can't they put some money into the account?..." when Haruhi only shrugged he sighed. "Well is there anything else they can do since both seem kind of far out for the club?" They ate in silence for a few more minutes until Haruhi made a strange comment.

"I think Kyouya's just mad because I haven't been devoting myself to the club as much lately…if he could see what it's like to really juggle school, being in the club, a real social life, money problems and trying to really deal with the guys he'd see what its like." She finished her food and took a sip of the tea that Akane had brought out for them. "Well maybe deal with the guys more but you know what I mean." Ritsu nodded to what she was saying since it was quite understandable. Not only did he like her(without her knowing it of course) but Tamaki, Hikaru and (possibly, he wasn't too sure) Karou did too.

"Does Kyouya- kun not do all of these things?" Akane asked quietly before setting down her bowl. "He's a host who's usually surrounded by girls and I'm sure they must want him like all of the other Host's girls. He's surrounded by the club's activities since he's the vice president. He goes to the school; but of course money probably isn't a problem for him…"

"Oh sure," Haruhi had to agree with that, "but I'm guessing you haven't seen what Kyouya's really like?" When Akane only shook her head she sighed. "He doesn't really have a social life. The girl's at the club to him probably just look like big piles of money in dresses. As far as I know he hasn't dated or taken interest in anyone that isn't of any type of use or benefit to him…so his social life is probably limited to the other hosts and parties that he might have to go to."

Akane smiled, "I see that you can be blunt yourself…" she thought about what had been said, "Ritsu, have you ever offered any service to the Host Club to help them out?" When he gave her a stony glare she gave a little sigh and thought herself. "Well, maybe you just need to find his one true weakness and exploit it. Make it to where he's on his knees worried about other things than just the club." She collected the dirtied dishes and walked back to the house.

"Exploit the fact that he's greedy and would do anything for his own gain?" Ritsu thought out loud.

"Okay well, I wouldn't say that. Kyouya can be nice when he wants to be but it's so rare I think he's probably forgotten how to truly do it without thinking about it first..." Haruhi sighed and stared at her shoes deep in thought until she realized something. At the club the idea hadn't hit her but when she saw Akane close up and next to Ritsu she had gotten a nagging suspicion. "Kasanoda-kun, Akane-chan isn't just a friend is she?" They both stared at each other in a second of silence until a small laugh broke it.

"Correct Haruhi-_kun_ or should I address you by something else? Unless this whole façade is really about a certain debt…" Akane smiled as she walked back to sit down, "but don't worry I won't tell. It must be quite a secret if my own cousin wouldn't tell me."

Haruhi sat there stunned, "you mean you can tell?" There had only been a few people that knew right off the bat and the only people she could compare this girl to was Kyouya himself and the Zuka Club. "And you're both cousins?" she had actually been going more along the line of a sibling relationship.

"Yes, but it's only because I've been taught these certain things…" she gave a little cough, "because when you're in the yakuza you can never be too careful about appearances." She tiled her head and gave a cute, but coy, little smile.

Ritsu could only sigh at his cousin's actions but Haruhi marveled at another idea that entered her mind.

"Kasanoda-kun!!" She grabbed his arm, which made him blush, "I have an idea!!"

"W-what is it?" He had to resist the tempting urge to blush until his whole face was as red as his hair.

"That smile! The mannerisms of everything she just did reminded me of Kyouya-kun!" Slowly, as if her touching him allowed him to absorb the thoughts she had, he nodded his head.

"You're saying that we should use her? Like fighting fire with fire?" Ritsu wouldn't go as far to say his cousin was exactly like Kyouya but she was like him in a small way except she would be called a Shadow Queen. "Isn't that a little risky since she doesn't really, you know, pose as a person he could use." They both looked to Akane who was smiling like she knew something they didn't, "Roze…" he sweat dropped when she nodded her head. "What is it?"

"Ritsu, do you not remember what Haruhi said? 'Kyouya says the clubs bank account is lower than it should be and we either have to cut back on the club props like the roses, costumes, and decorations or else we'll have to cancel this year's Cherry Blossom Viewing.' That means I could actually pose as a person of some benefit to him." When his cousin was right, she was right. Only a person so sneaky and evil could think of a plan like this, but in reality she wasn't really like that.

"Roze I don't think that…" Ritsu was starting to see why she was doing this, "you shouldn't…"

"Of course she should!" Haruhi exclaimed oblivious to the fact that they were talking about something else, "this might even minimize my debt!" Those were the magic words that got Ritsu to agree.

"Fine. But only on certain conditions," he sighed when Haruhi finally released his arm.

"Condition away cousin," Akane folded her hands in her lap delicately and smiled like she was an innocent angel. She had her own reasons for being their 'pawn' in this plan, but what she wanted might not even come to unless she could corner the Shadow King. From there is where she decided she would go, that is unless something unpredictable happened…


	6. Let the Games Begin

**Let the Games Begin**

Ritsu carried his cousin's bag, "Roze…I know you're probably thinking of something but I really don't want you getting close to Kyouya."

She turned to him and smiled, "he's interesting cousin. I just want to get to know him." As they approached the Host Club he gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"Please just don't. You know that since you've moved here you have to listen to me. The next master of the-" she stopped and shrugged his hand off.

"But remember at whose expense. I can handle myself Ritsu. You should know that by now; and whatever I have planned for Kyouya is my business and will only help your friend Haruhi."

"Akane! I didn't mean it like that!" He felt like he was being scolded for what he had said.

"Yes you did, do you have something against Kyouya?" Akane turned to give him a cold, hard glare.

"No! No I don't! It's just that I don't really…just don't get any ideas about it Akane!" He glared back at her and resumed his usually cold demeanor.

"You know I wasn't really planning on doing anything until later but I think I can rearrange a few things." They both stopped their argument when the reached the doors. "Well, here it goes."

Tamaki yanked open the doors before she could open it, "AH! You did come back! I thought that you had forgotten me!" He went to reach for a rose but realized all the roses they had were only for today's decorations. "Ah…" he said sadly, "well. What brings you here so early?" his smile returned as he led them into the room.

"Oh well, Kasanoda-kun was just about to leave since he has some gardening club activities to attend to. Isn't that right?" she turned around to see him already running down the hall. "I just wanted to hang around for a while. Chat, that sort of thing…" she saw Kyouya out of the corner of her eye typing on his laptop.

"Akane-chan!" Haruhi sped in, "you're here! Tamaki-kun would you excuse us?" when the blond nodded she took the girl towards the back of the room. "He said today that we're not canceling the viewing but decorations are going to be lacking for the next semester." Akane nodded and turned on her sweet face before she turned to look at him. "I'd be careful. He seems kind of mad today."

"Don't worry about me Haruhi-kun…" Akane fixed her ribbon and began walking over. "Kyouya-kun?" she tilted her head and pretended like she was interested in what he was doing.

He looked up, "oh. Akane-chan, what do you need?" he closed his laptop and motioned for her to side down in the chair opposite of him.

She blushed and sat down, "well…Haruhi-kun told me about the club's problems and I wanted to help…that is if it's okay with Kyouya-kun?"

Kyouya nodded, "what do you have in mind?"

"Well I'm sure Kyouya-kun knows that I'm into flower arrangements so…I could specially do the arrangements for the club." She smiled and folded her hands in her lap to stop herself from frantically smoothing out her dress.

Kyouya watched her every move, the way she folded her hands and how she slightly tilted her head. _'What could she want?...' _he quickly smiled. "Of course, but is there something that Akane-chan would like such as free merchandise? Or perhaps to be invited to the Host Club's Cherry Blossom Viewing?" he already had a few of the prototype invitations sitting on the table top.

"That sounds very nice but if Kyouya-kun wouldn't mind…I'd like it if he would be my host from now on?" she smiled shyly and ducked her head like she was embarrassed. "That's if he wants to though. I'll still do the arrangements regardless…"

He smiled and thought, _'is that all…well I suppose I could at least give that to her. It would save us quite a bit of money, especially since her family has top quality roses.' _"Of course, I would be happy to be your host. But are you sure that none of the others are of interest to you?" he allowed her to look around the room and silently pulled up the digital appointment calendar.

"Well the twins could be my every other day hosts, so I don't monopolize Kyouya-kun's time of course. Or I could even help out around the Club?" she looked at the invitations; they looked nice but a little sloppy.

"Ah, Akane-chan doesn't have to do that," he smiled sweetly, "you're a client and you don't have to work around here."

Haruhi was a few feet away and listening, _'this is going badly…'_ she got up and moved towards a table, _'just a simple trip to break a vase…it'll be added to my debt but hopefully it'll be taken off just as quickly.'_ She knew it was a somewhat of a stupid plan but it was the only thing she could think to do and with her next step she tripped and knocked over one of the unsteady side tables. "Oh!" she pretended to have done it by accident and then fell down to the ground.

Tamaki jumped up from where he was sitting and immediately rushed over, "Haruhi!" he picked her up off of the ground, "are you hurt?"

"No, Tamaki-sempai should be careful…" she looked over at Akane for a split second so she could use this to her advantage.

Akane turned back to Kyouya, he seemed displeased and his eye was slightly twitching. "Ah, Kyouya-kun might need a maid if Haruhi-kun is very prone to breaking vases. Especially if the Club is having a hard time right now, so perhaps I could clean up?"

Kyouya looked back to her and put on a strained smile, "of course but I'll also have to add it under Haruhi's _account_." He pulled up his log for Haruhi's specific debts and added the vase, "I'm sorry Akane-chan but if I'm going to be your host it will have to start tomorrow. We'll discuss the rest of your plan then."

She stood up and bowed, "of course…I will see you then Kyouya-kun. I should probably see how Ritsu-kun is doing outside."

"Of course…until then princess," he smiled, his faint idea that she wasn't just a normal 2-A student was confirmed.

"Until then," she stood up and walked out.

"Mother! Haruhi is using foul language again!" Tamaki yelled from where he was holding Haruhi, her face was a mix of displeasure and pain.

"Oh, alright…" he turned back to the two after watching Akane walk out.


	7. The Rook

**The Rook**

Ritsu hadn't slept well the night before so he decided that he would let Akane do as she pleased that day. The idea that she had said what she did worried him even more though than the fact she wanted to get to know Kyouya, which by his standards used to be the worst thing. "I'll see you later…" he yawned and waved to her as she nodded and walked inside.

Akane walked inside and noticed that Kyouya wasn't there at the moment. But she wasn't too surprised when the twins slid up to her and pulled her towards their couch.

"Ah and here she is. The only girl to ever solve the mystery of who is Hikaru," Karou pushed her gently onto the couch while Hikaru sat on one side of her. "So tell me-" he sighed as his brother cut him off.

"Why do you wear so much make up?" Hikaru asked as he got up in her face.

"Hikaru! Don't be so rude to Akane-chan!" Karou pushed his brother back, "don't mind him; he's just so much more…rebellious-"

"But that's how you like me isn't it?" Hikaru swept Karou into his arms and they posed in a loving manner.

"Oh Hikaru~"

Akane watched the two with an amused look, "so that's how you two got so many customers." She watched as both of them turned to her, obviously the moment was lost.

"So?" Hikaru asked, "But anyways. Why do you wear so much makeup? It's like you're wearing a mask." He poked her cheek, "what is it exactly? Are you wearing Geisha makeup?"

She snickered, "well not exactly. Ah…" she looked over in Tamaki's direction; he seemed contented with some silly toy he had pulled out of a box. Haruhi was in the back of the room working on something, and then Hunny and Mori weren't there yet. "Well in my family the girls have to wear this, at least the daughters that work."

"So you're a Geisha? Or apprentice?" Hikaru went about with looking over her clothes, "You don't exactly dress like one."

Akane blinked, "no…"

Karou sighed, "Of course not Hikaru. She comes to school here and she doesn't dress like a Geisha. Plus, she seems kind of I don't know-"

"Rough?"

"No."

"Callous?"

"No."

"Manly?"

"Maybe."

At this point both twins heard a low chuckling, "hn?" they both turned to see Akane chuckling at them.

"Manly? I've never been described that way before." She smiled as they both tilted their head to the left and shrugged.

"We can't really tell what it is…" Hikaru said first.

"But there's something strange about you," Karou finished. The twins both looked at each other and nodded. "And we know that you're trying to get close to Kyouya~" he teased.

"Which means only one thing~" Hikaru added.

"And what would that be?" Akane asked amused.

"YOU'RE CRAZY!" They exclaimed together and danced around.

She merely smiled, "that may be."

"So!" They said together, "tell us all about yourself since we're going to be stuck with you two days out of the week!"

'_Two? Does that mean…well maybe he's doing it for business?'_ Akane nodded, "well, I'm not a Geisha for starters. In my family the women wear tradition clothing around the g-house. The women that are born to the family that is. The maids and other servants don't have to. But since I'm technically the only girl there only I have to."

"So you're an only child?" Hikaru asked.

She nodded, "my parents had to split up because of some business matters."

"What kind of business matters?" Karou asked, he kind of felt her become stiffer after he placed a hand on her shoulder. It was probably something she wouldn't want to talk about.

"Ah…well its just business that's all." She smiled like it didn't matter, "any other questions?"

Hikaru looked at her uniform, "what kind of clothes do you wear when you're not at school?"

"Um…" she knew this one would be hard to explain, "Well I wear traditional clothing around the house. Mostly kimonos…and when I'm permitted to go out I wear long sleeves and skirts. It just kind of depends." She hadn't worn regular clothes in so long she was sure she'd have to go shopping soon just for decent in style clothes that would fit her.

"Is your family really religious or something?" Hikaru asked bluntly while appraising her facial reaction.

"I guess you could say that?" She didn't know exactly where the tradition came from. Was it from family, the business, or just some weird rule they made up? Either way she had bigger things to think of right now.

Karou tilted his head, "is your hair black or red? Or do you just dye it like that?"

"Oh. My hair?" she grabbed one of the long strands and looked down at it. Something else she didn't want to think about right now. It was something that could give her away, "I just dye it for fun. Sometimes I wear wigs too."

Hikaru and Karou looked at each other, "maybe you'll let us dye your hair?" they asked together.

"Maybe blue?"

"No we should do it pink!"

"No blue!"

Both twins began arguing with each other over the possible future colors of her hair. It distracted them so she could look around the room again.

Quickly she swept the room with her eyes again; Tamaki was still busy, Haruhi was setting up a few vases with roses but was looking at the three out of the corner of her eyes. Akane smiled a little, she was anxious to at least get the club back to where it should be. _'Why shouldn't she?'_ she thought, _'she has a life and can't be letting this debt prevail over everything else.'_ She quickly looked over at the table where Kyouya usually sat and suddenly noticed Kyouya sitting there. He was watching them too but intently, he seemed to be surveying how it was going.

When both Akane and Kyouya's eyes met they silently held them for a moment and he merely nodded before turning back to his laptop. She wondered what he was thinking at the moment but when she turned back to the twins she realized something. Karou was watching her too. There had to be a reason for it but she didn't know what.

His eyes had only been on her for a split second but she was sure he wasn't thinking about her. Just looking at her in his distress, but what could he be distressed about.

"Karou!" Hikaru quickly put his thumb into his mouth and sucked it. "That hurt!"

"Sorry brother!" Karou bit his own thumb in sympathy for what he had done.

* * * * *

Akane's time at the Host Club that day had gone relatively fast, being with the Twin's was fun but she always noticed Karou watching her. There was something though, like he was trying to tell her something just with his quick looks. "Oh, if you two don't mind I have to go pay Kyouya and ask Haruhi-kun something…" she got up quietly and walked over to Kyouya. Without a word she paid probably twice what she had to. It was a sizeable tip for the Host Club since she wasn't doing the flower arrangements yet.

Kyouya didn't move his eyes from the screen or say anything to Akane while she did this and then quietly walked away. Neither of them thought anything of it either. They had things to do at the moment and would have a chance to talk the next day.

"Haruhi-kun…" Akane placed a hand on Haruhi's shoulder.

"What is it Akane-chan?" Haruhi looked up from the tea cups she was cleaning.

"Would you mind covering for me? I want to meet someone after I leave but I don't want Ritsu to know." As Haruhi washed the tea cups Akane pulled out a tiny slip of paper from inside her sleeve and pulled out a tiny writing pen from inside one of her pockets.

"Sure but who-?" She was cut off as Tamaki sauntered over and hugged her randomly.

Akane wrote her note quickly as Tamaki hugged onto Haruhi and doted on her.

"Ah! Haruhi-kun looks so cute washing dishes like it was his job~" Tamaki was oblivious to the fact Akane was standing less than three feet away now. But it didn't matter.

'_His interactions with her reveal so much…'_ Akane thought as she walked back to the twins. "It was so fun being with you two today. And I can't wait until next time." She smiled sweetly, not betraying what she was about to do.

"Ah next time you have to tell us about your family~" Hikaru said, he had been trying the whole time to get her to talk about them but she had gently directed it away from that sensitive subject.

"I'll have to get security clearance," she joked, "oh. My shoe," she knelt down as if to tie it but quickly slipped her note into Karou's own shoe. "Well I'll see you two tomorrow in passing."

Both the twin's nodded as she left. "Bye Wakahisa-chan!" Hikaru leaned back and closed his eyes once the doors shut. "Ah, she's so mysterious. Maybe she is a stalker."

Karou shook his head, "I'm not sure." He had felt her fingertips brush his ankle but wasn't sure if she had done something. He reached down and felt something sticking out of his sock and blushed. "Ah. I have to use the bathroom."

* * * * *

The school campus was basically deserted except for the few clubs that did run late. But most of the people were scattered across the school and you would only see one or two people walking down the hallways. That is what made this so exciting to Karou, no one would witness this meeting. He had told Hikaru he had forgotten some homework and needed to get it. His brother didn't really question it since he was preoccupied with bothering both Tamaki and Haruhi at the time.

_Meet me under the Sakura trees after you're done. I'll be waiting_

_W. A._

It would be cryptic to anyone else that read the note but he knew which ones she meant. The same ones they would have the Cherry Blossom Viewing under. As soon as he got close he could see her sitting under one of the trees. She was turned slightly away from him and had her eyes closed.

"I didn't think you'd actually come." She smiled slightly and opened an eye.

"Wakahisa-chan?"

"Yes Karou-kun?"

"Ah…what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I think you know."

He nodded and came closer. "I thought you wouldn't notice that I was looking at you but…I guess you did."

A silence spread, it was awkward but not overbearing.

* * *

_Sorry for not posting anything for a while. I got side tracked on a bunch of other things but this one is sorta long. And I'll post the second part next week if I finish it. If you have any things you want to see sooner(such as a mention at the lives of the other hosts at the moment) then I can put it in. It's just I don't really see it as relevent for now._

_In about three or four chapters(not including next weeks) some of the Kasanoda family secrets will be coming out and by the end of Year of the Shadow King some unexpected things will happen. ;o By then I'll probably take a three month break before posting the next one._

_But I will be posting some side stories about the Host Club too by then. So keep an eye open for them._

_Julie  
_


	8. The Rook II

**The Rook II**

Karou watched as she closed her eyes again and rested against the tree quietly. "Are you a stalker?" he only asked to start the conversation again. He watched as she brought up one of her hands and brushed her bangs away from her face.

"Not really. I do like to get information on the people I meet though." Akane opened her eyes and turned to him. "It's sort of like a hobby."

"Oh…" They both were quiet again for a moment. "Wakahisa-chan. Do you think you'd be able to help me?"

She smiled, not a fake one or even just a polite one. This smile was real. In some vain hope she thought maybe he had figured out who she was but it was too soon to hope for that. "And what problem would that be Hitachiin-kun?" Their age didn't matter in this conversation and in some ways they tried to keep it formal. It would be impossible though for it to keep going that way.

"Would you…help me to be myself?" It sounded silly but he felt that with someone new to the school, to the Host Club's game and everything else, maybe he could make a friend.

"You already are yourself." She tilted her head and brushed back her hair again. "Unless you mean you want me to just see Karou and Hikaru instead of the Hitachiin Twins. Then I can do that."

He smiled, "so you will?" It was exciting; it had always just been him and his brother and then the world. Haruhi had helped to break down that wall slowly but now he was willing to take a leap into the unknown. To make a new friend that might be able to understand him just as well as his own brother.

She nodded again, "only if Karou-kun will see me for who I am too. And to never think ill of me when he finds out whom I am."

"Of course! I wouldn't do that." Karou moved closer to her and smiled, "but this means that we'll have to hang out and stuff like that."

"I'd enjoy that."

"Without my brother being around?" There were some things he needed reassurance about though.

"If that's what you want."

"Great!" He jumped up and stretched, "then we can start hanging out after tomorrow!"

Akane nodded and smiled again before getting up, "just the two of us."

* * * * *

Once Akane had returned to the Gumi she knew it had been a strange and yet eventful day. Karou, in his own way, had asked for her to be his friend. _'Someone who really asked me…without knowing who I really am…'_ the only question remained if he would still look at her or even think of her the same way if he found out.

As she walked in Haruhi pounced on her. It wasn't really in Haruhi's nature and Akane knew it but she was anxious for something to happen. She probably just had Spring Fever, but if it continued like this who knew how many other things she might break.

"Did you meet with Karou-kun?" Haruhi pulled her into the small room Ritsu had cleared for them. All that was in the room was a small table and several wall scrolls that held some of the family's philosophy and family tree.

Akane nodded slowly, "how did you know?"

"He disappeared after we were dismissed and said something about homework. I know for a fact he never leaves it in class." Haruhi went and sat down at the table. "What was it that he wanted?"

Ritsu nodded, he meant the same question but said nothing.

"A friend." She sat down quietly and dropped her bag down next to her. "That's all."

Haruhi nodded, "actually I should probably tell you about the twins too…"

"Any first hand experience you have with them will be useful to me." Akane gave a sweet smile that meant 'tell me all you know'. Patented faces like that were always useful, especially in the middle of a plan. _'The type of plan where everyone is really being used as a pawn…'_ she thought to herself and lightly shook her head.

"Alright well…" Haruhi thought about it, "ah. Hikaru is sort of socially awkward. Not in the conventional way but he has a hard time dealing with other people. Once he…"

Akane listed patiently as Haruhi told her the stories of things that had happened before; things that would probably help in the time to come.


	9. First Meeting with the Shadow King

**_After months of not updating, behold! The third chapter in a week. I hope you guys are enjoying this because for some reason I just can't stop writing.  
I guess this means my writer's block in general is over -_**

**_Julie  
_**

* * *

**First Meeting with the Shadow King**

Kyouya sat in the Club Room alone. He was playing a quick game of solitaire on his lap top as he waited for the others to show up. _'Tamaki is probably busy looking for the commoner rose man again…'_ he sighed and pushed up his glasses. He finished the game quickly and opened up the report on the club funds. He rubbed his chin as he looked over it, he wasn't even sure if they should bother trying to pull it up themselves. He knew they had the option of putting in some extra money themselves but it wouldn't feel like a real business then. He thought about what they could do but every event they held always took money to make it and if the turn out wasn't well it would be all for naught.

"Kyouya-kun?" Akane leaned in from the door to the Third Music room and watched him quietly. She had her bag lightly grasped in her other hand and then watched as he looked up. He didn't seem surprised but he probably was. "I know I'm a little early but-" she stopped when he motioned for her to come and sit next to him.

"It's fine." He looked back down at the laptop and exited the account. "Actually you said you wanted to talk more about how you could help with the club right?" The way he said it wasn't a question but just making sure he had heard her right. Not that he needed to do that, it was just his way of continuing the conversation.

She nodded and smiled as she walked over. She sat down and let her bag rest against her legs. "If Kyouya-kun doesn't mind I'd like to ask what he's doing here by himself…"

He smiled in his polite way. She could already see it was false but didn't let on; it must have been his way of dealing with people. "I was just here checking up on the accounts and making sure everything was here for today. But may I ask you something also?" He plucked a rose, which he knew was only for decoration, and held it out to her. "Why such a lovely princess is here at Ouran instead of at her own school?"

Akane slowly took the rose at looked at it in her own hand, "because…" she started slowly. She wondered if she was really caught or if he was just inquiring since it said she had come from St. Lobelia on her transcripts. "My mother just moved her business to another city and I didn't want to leave with her. So instead I decided to just transfer to Ouran and stay with some friends of the family."

"I take it you mean that you're staying with Kasanoda-kun?" He smiled but it had a hint of devilishness in it too.

She nodded; it was something she might as well put out there for now. "But if Kyouya-kun wouldn't mind if we talked about my plan now?" she asked softly like she wasn't sure of what to say.

He nodded and watched her closely, "what did you have in mind exactly?"

"I was thinking that maybe I could do the flower arrangements. For everyday and the club's special events so it would take that pressure off of Kyouya-kun's mind. And maybe help clean up at the end of the day. Haruhi-kun suggested that maybe the Club should hold a sort of bake sale or even where the Club sells food for profit in general." She looked up and smiled, "how does that sound so far?"

Kyouya smiled again, "that sounds perfect, princess." He was about to say something else when the doors flew open and Tamaki was standing there flushed from running.

"KYOUYA!" The blond rushed over and dropped to his knees, "Karou and Hikaru refuse to dress up as characters from that manga Haruhi picked out!" He pouted, "And it's supposed to be a theme this week!"

"Well…Tamaki didn't you even care to notice that Akane-chan and I are talking?" Kyouya said it somewhat harshly but then looked towards Akane. "Isn't that right princess?"

She wasn't sure what to say, Kyouya was looking at her with a stone gaze and wanted her to agree with him. But then she saw Tamaki turn to her with his big puppy eyes.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I was just coming to tell you that because we already ordered the costumes and now they're saying they don't want to wear them and that means-"

"Don't worry I'll take care of it…" Said Kyouya flatly, he wasn't pleased by the situation but he also had other things to take care of. "Well Princess before our time together today I have to go talk to a pair of rebellious twins. Then we'll have all the time in the world."

"Of course, be gentle though." She held the rose he had given her lightly in her hands as he smiled.

"I'll try."

* * * * *

Haruhi ran into the Third Music room. She was late, she knew it. Hopefully Kyouya would be too occupied to notice though. And in a good mood, which seemed to be fewer and fewer since he had made the announcement about the Club's account. _'There's so much planning before next weekend. I don't even know how I'll be able to keep up with my homework this week…'_ she looked to see that the club activities were going smoothly. Her clients had merged with the Twin's, probably waiting for her to arrive. And strangely Kyouya was just entertaining Akane by herself. Unlike how Tamaki had taken his regular clients at the same time, _'maybe he knows…'_ with a hard swallow Haruhi moved to her usual spot. She strained to listen through the idle chatter to hear what the two were talking about.

"I actually dislike the Zuka Club, they're very flashy. And a lot of the things I've seen them do annoys me to no end…ah Haruhi-kun just walked in." Akane sipped from her tea and watched Kyouya's reaction.

"I had no idea you've actually worked with them before. I would just think they kept to themselves. As for Haruhi he'll be talked to after, and he **should** attend to his clients." Kyouya said sternly and then resumed his idle talk about the Zuka Club.

Haruhi knew it was her cue just to go and attend to her customers. _'It doesn't seem like such a bad start…'_ she smiled slightly at the thought and moved to her customers quickly.

Akane chuckled slightly; she sort of knew what Haruhi was thinking. "Ah. Well they need someone to get all of their flowers for them. Even though at St. Lobelia they teach the things a woman should know some of them just can arrange a flower bouquet."

Kyouya stroked the rim of his tea cup and absently added, "Well some women can't fold clothes properly…"

She raised an eyebrow questionably but he only shrugged.

"Some of them can't."

* * * * *

After the girls were dismissed Kyouya showed Akane where the basic cleaning supplies were. "If there's a day when you don't feel like cleaning its fine. I'll just have someone else do it then."

"Oh it's no trouble on my part Kyouya-kun. Anything to help out." She put on an apron and then picked up a broom and dust pan.

He smiled, "well. Clean what you want. I have some things to attend to." He walked out of the back and went over to where Haruhi was sitting still. "Haruhi?" his voice had an edge to it again, this was strictly business.

"Yes Kyouya-sempai?" Haruhi looked up from her homework. She had figured she could just walk home with Ritsu and Akane today. They still had a lot of planning to do anyways.

"I'm sure I don't have to remind you just how high your debt is but you should also keep track of the time. I had to reassure the girls you were going to come today after they almost had a break down." He watched as she blinked.

"I know Kyouya-sempai. It's just I was getting something from my last class." She closed her notebook and kept his gaze.

"Well for future reference be quicker about it. I wouldn't want to have to add more to your debt."

Haruhi sighed, beaten once again. "Yes Kyouya-sempai." She could see Akane sweeping in the background; hopefully she had heard all of that so she wouldn't have to mention it in front of Ritsu. For some reason he always became agitated whenever she mentioned how Kyouya acted and she didn't understand why. _'I guess everyone is in a bad mood lately…'_

* * * * *

Akane walked with Haruhi, they were quiet after what had happened. "Haruhi, if you want this to work you're going to have to help me keep him in good a mood as possible."

The other girl nodded, "I know. But he usually doesn't get that mad about it."

They both got quiet when they saw Ritsu at the gates of the school waiting for them. "Haruhi…Roze," he offered to take their bags but they both declined. He sighed and they all began walking in the direction of the Kasanoda-gumi.

"So have you given any thought to next weekend?" Haruhi asked the two cousins suddenly.

"Next weekend?" Ritsu sweat dropped, he was already lost.

Akane only nodded, "I think it would be nice to go to the beach. And I think it would be nice to get my room set up out there too anyways."

"What are you two talking about?!" Exclaimed Ritsu in a comical way, he looked between the two and waited for an answer.

"Weren't you paying attention the other day?" Asked Haruhi, she looked up at the sky and sighed.

Akane tossed her hair over her shoulder, "we're talking about the next part of the plan of course."


	10. Haruhi Makes a Way

_**Starting today I'll be answering questions on a site call GaiaOnline. If you have an account feel free to message me at 'PrincessJuliaOfHeart' if it does not come up try it with spaces between the words. I'll be answering questions until next Wednesday and then it'll move on for another Fan Fic. If you don't have an account feel free to email me at ''**_

_**Also until next Wednesday I'll only be updating Ouran so look foward to the 1+ chapters a day that will be uploaded.**_

_**Julie  
**_

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* * *

Haruhi Makes a Way**

"HARUHI!!!" Tamaki grabbed the girl as soon as she walked into the Third Music room. "Come and look at the costume that came for you!" he was grinning playfully and pulled her to the back of the room.

She stared at the costume and blinked, "but I thought we were going to do Kiki's Delivery Service…" she knew what the costumes were but as to why she couldn't guess.

"We were but it turns out the costumes for Howl's Moving Castle was a lot cheaper! And besides~ I can be your Wizard." He struck a pose and smiled, "wouldn't it be fun?"

Haruhi sighed and rolled her eyes, "I think I'd rather dress up as Michael." She looked at the costume and sweat dropped, "or did you already plan for Honey to be Michael?"

Tamaki nodded, "yeah! Because in the movie he's a little boy and it's perfect for him!"

She dared to ask, "and who is Kyouya going to be?" she looked for him but figured he was probably out front still.

"Oh! He's going to play bird Howl~ isn't that great?!" Tamaki danced around and then stopped. "Is something wrong?"

Haruhi had thought about how she would ask this, it was the perfect time too since she was alone with Tamaki. "I've been thinking about how nice it would be to go to the beach again. Like we did before, except I don't think I'm going to get into a fight with anyone this time." She blinked and looked up at the ceiling thinking about it. "Maybe it would be a great stress reliever for everyone too," she smiled and looked at Tamaki. His eyes were wide and glowing.

"Oh! Haruhi if you want to go to the beach I'll make sure we go as soon as possible!" He declared before going to run out, "ah…when would you like to go?"

"How about next weekend?" she asked and looked back at her costume.

"Perfect! Next weekend! I'll go tell Kyouya!" he ran out quickly and left her standing in the back room.

She laughed, "It is perfect." She just wondered what Akane had planned for when they got there.


End file.
